Chapter 108: Stavenger Faction
The main manor of the Stavenger family stood at the heart of their territory in Skycity. Nothing was left to chance. The corridors were wide, silent, lit by discreet wall sconces. The architecture favored efficiency over ostentation. Every room had a precise function, designed to serve the strategy and influence of the faction.
In the inner salon reserved for private etings, a large black-and-white marble chessboard occupied the center. The finely carved pieces bore the ancient emblem of the Stavenger family. The air was calm and cold, just like the resident of these premises.
Helia von Stavenger sat on one side of the table.
She wore an entirely black outfit in shiny leather, tight and glossy, that clung closely to her generous curves. Her voluminous and prominent breasts strained the buttoned fabric, highlighting her full and firm shapes.
Her wide hips and thick thighs were squeezed into a side-slit skirt, revealing smooth white skin. An integrated corset cinched her slim waist, accentuating the exaggerated curve of her heavy breasts and rounded ass. A large cross adorned with a red gem hung between her breasts, drawing the eye to their heavy roundness and deep cleavage.
Her black hair, cut into a short straight bob with a sharp fringe, frad her pale face. She wore thin black-frad glasses that emphasized the cold intensity of her dark eyes. Her full, slightly parted lips remained still, while her fixed gaze scrutinized the chessboard with absolute attention. Her facial expression stayed neutral, without the slightest trace of superfluous emotion.
Helia was known throughout the Academy for her mind. She was not a fighter. She had no need to be. A fifth-circle mage, blessed by Jophiel, the Seraph of Wisdom, she mastered cognitive magic at a rare level. Analysis, anticipation, calculation. She saw possibilities before they even took shape. So rumors said she could sotis foresee the future. She neither confird nor denied.
Her only flaw, if it could be called that, was her contempt for most people. She considered the majority unpredictable, emotional, and therefore inefficient. Love, to her, was nothing but a useless concept. She had been raised that way. By logic. By coldness. By demand.
Facing her sat Evelyn Greycastle.
Evelyn belonged to the Greycastle lineage, a duchy allied with the Stavenger faction. Also a fifth-circle mage, specialized in sound magic, she was Helia’s official right hand.
She wore a tight military uniform in shiny purple leather, stretched to the extre over her curvaceous body. Her enormous and heavy breasts overflowed widely from the deep cleavage, the round and firm mounds pressed together, accentuated by fine black lace edging the opening.
Silver tal chains dangled across her chest, connecting the ornate shoulder pads and drawing attention to her slightly tanned skin that bore so marks from her intense training. A purple military cap with the Greycastle duchy insignia partially covered her short, slightly tousled black hair, with contrasting white strands on the sides.
Her intense purple eyes stared with apparent calm, pupils dilated under slightly lowered lids. She held a lighter, flicking it on and off repeatedly.
Her clinging pants hugged her thick, muscular thighs, stretching the glossy fabric over her wide hips and rounded ass. High laced black boots rose over her sculpted calves. Sitting with her legs crossed on a luxurious red armchair, she observed the chessboard attentively, but her movents today were less precise, her gloved fingers hesitating slightly on the pieces.
Behind Helia stood Allister von Stavenger.
Tall, broad-shouldered, his aura was impossible to ignore. An A-rank magical warrior with the Wind attribute, Allister was the blade of the family. Where Helia thought, he struck. Where she decided, he executed. He was known for his efficiency and pragmatism that matched only his sister’s.
With each move Helia made, Allister stepped closer slightly, pulled out a handkerchief, and wiped her forehead, as if she were making a physical effort.
Helia moved a piece without looking up.
Allister approached imdiately.
She sighed.
"Could you stop please, Allister? I’m not weak enough to not know how to play."
He hesitated.
"But little sister..."
"Ah... you’re exhausting , Allister."
Helia finally raised her eyes and fixed her gaze on Evelyn.
"Usually, you play better."
Evelyn remained silent for a few seconds, then answered with a question. She pulled a cigarette from her pocket and brought it to her lips.
"Can I smoke?"
Helia simply nodded.
Evelyn lit the cigarette and inhaled slowly.
"I suppose seeing him brought back your bad habits," Helia continued, observing the chessboard.
"Not really," Evelyn replied calmly. "The last ti we saw each other, we were children. And then we grew up."
Helia moved a knight.
"So I suppose you weren’t pleased when the engagent was canceled?"
Evelyn exhaled the smoke without hurrying.
"Indeed, I don’t really care what happens to him."
Helia adjusted her glasses slightly.
"You know very well that I notice the dilation of your pupils and your slightly irregular breathing. No need to lie, Evelyn."
A slight silence settled.
"I suppose I’ve been found out," Evelyn admitted. "But what there was between us... was childish. It no longer matters."
Throughout the conversation, Allister was no longer looking at the chessboard. His attention was fixed on several magical screens arranged on the opposite wall. They broadcast different areas of the Academy entrance exam.
On one of them, a fight caught his attention.
"That guy is pretty good," Allister comnted. "But he’s way too much of a show-off."
Evelyn turned her head slightly toward the screen. It showed a young man advancing confidently, hands in his pockets, a relaxed smile on his face, but she frowned imdiately.
"Indeed," she replied. "I thought during his awakening he was of diocre talent."
Helia also looked at the screen, without expression. She moved a piece, putting the opposing king in difficulty.
"So the initial data was incomplete, as they say mana doesn’t truly indicate potential," she simply said.
"You’re right, one of the most concrete proofs is the half-beasts."
No one was surprised that Helia knew the details about each of the participants. She always knew more than she showed. Her true weapon was neither her magic nor her rank, but her brain.
Evelyn took another drag of her cigarette.
"I hope you lose everything," she murmured. "Fucking Paragon bastard."
Helia added nothing. She observed the screen, then the chessboard, then Evelyn who seed to want to kill soone.
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